2011 Mississippi River Spring Floods

[HelmutVII]

_ Is there any way to contain the water in spillway we cross over going to Baton Rouge & trap it until the rivers start to go down in level? & Thanks for the other info. I just hope politics doesn't take precident over what's best for the most people & property in the decision making by the powers that be. _

It's a spill way (hydraulic conveyance) not a retention basin (hydraulic capacitance).

[CajunRed]

Helmut...or any of you others with the expertise...what was the water level in Henderson Lake in 1973?

Some are saying 10 feet above current levels, which would be about 24 feet...since Henderson levels are now at 14.2 feet.


igeaux.mobi

[cypremort]

FYI, Corp of Engineers latest inundation map of basin flooding.

http://images.ibsys.com/2011/0507/27809711.jpg

[CajunRed]

Thanks for the map. If I am reading correctly, it is showing Henderson Lake in "green"...which is 10 to 15 feet above current levels. Ouch! That would be very scary.

FYI, Corp of Engineers latest inundation map of basin flooding.

http://images.ibsys.com/2011/0507/27809711.jpg

igeaux.mobi

[CajunMarineBBK]

I am offshore and we got a call from Venice saying that the water is starting to rise. I sure hope I can get out of here come Tuesday morning.

[biged05]

_ FYI, Corp of Engineers latest inundation map of basin flooding.

http://images.ibsys.com/2011/0507/27809711.jpg _

Well you beat me to the punch. I was just about to post it. Thanks for letting people know.

For any other information you guys may want to know got to www.mvn.usace.army.mil Then click on the big red 2011 flood fight link.

[HelmutVII]

One thing you have to remember is that the inundation map gives estimated depth of water above ground level. Not water surface elevation. Most of the public data given by the Corps and the Weather service give flood information as water surface elevation relative to mean sea level (MSL). If you try to correspond any inundation data with flood stage data without taking into consideration your ground elevation you will be making a terrible mistake.

If you have property and the ground elevation is 15.0 feet above MSL and they predict a crest of 18.0 feet MSL then your property will be inundated by 3 .0 feet of water. The inundation map is reflecting the 3.0 feet of water on your property NOT the 18.0 foot elevation of the water surface.

On the other hand when they publish a stage (water surface) at 20.0 that does not mean 20.0 feet above the ground. It means the water surface is 20.0 above MSL. MSL being the eventual level the water wants to seek. At the lower reaches of the river you may see two predicted crests on two different days because they may be anticipating higher tides on a subsequent day.

[CharlieK]

_ Charliek--sorry about that, that's why I said I hope I didn't mis-understand anyone. If everything would fail that would be catastrophic and it would change everyones life around here. Lafayette might be the new port city then...lol

CajunRed---it's hard to say what would happen. I know they are running models to get a feel for it and present to the higher powers that will make the decision, and none of those are being released at this time. Once things are released, I'll let you know where to find the info.

igeaux.mobi _

No problem at all your insite is very helpfull. What I was trying to understand is lets say there is too much water for the control structrue and morganza and the river changes course lets say at the control structure or just above where the rivers come real close to each other. Is the basin levee system designed to contain all that water untill the atchafalaya channel is scoured enough to carry the water load? Or is it a situation where if that happens we are all screwed?

Thanks again I have been interested in this topic for a while and have read rising tide, and crevasse! as well as mcphee's holding back nature but have never found a clear explanation of what happens if the unthinkable occurs.

[Boomer]

Tell me that it wasn't too many Pat O'Brien Hurricanes----- but when you look at the river from Jackson Square the river looks higher than where you stand ---TRUE??????

[RaginFan2]

_ Tell me that it wasn't too many Pat O'Brien Hurricanes----- but when you look at the river from Jackson Square the river looks higher than where you stand ---TRUE?????? _

It's not the Pat O's - it is!

[HelmutVII]

_ Tell me that it wasn't too many Pat O'Brien Hurricanes----- but when you look at the river from Jackson Square the river looks higher than where you stand ---TRUE?????? _

The elevations shown in the attached link show the current stage at about 15.8 with an estimated 17.0 from 5/12 to 5/25 and then still at 16.2 on 6/1. Given that New Orleans elevations run in the single digits, the river is indeed higher than where you stand.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/?n=ms_extended_forecast

Lets hope the levees hold, because if they break in New Orleans sometimes in the next month, Katrina would look like a cake walk.

[Bandwagon King]

_ The elevations shown in the attached link show the current stage at about 15.8 with an estimated 17.0 from 5/12 to 5/25 and then still at 16.2 on 6/1. Given that New Orleans elevations run in the single digits, the river is indeed higher than where you stand.

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lmrfc/?n=ms_extended_forecast

Lets hope the levees hold, because if they break in New Orleans sometimes in the next month, Katrina would look like a cake walk. _

I have a question for all you guys. I have been travelling the Atchafalaya all this week going back & forth to a well I've been working on 15 miles South of Morgan City. The sea wall in Morgan City attaches to the river locks in Bayou Bouef & then the sea wall was extended down where the river runs along Avoca Island South of Morgan city where it just stops. The problem as I see it is the river gets really shallow just south of that point with massive sand bars, where Bayou Shane joins the Atchafalaya. This causes the water to go around that sea wall & then back up into Amelia then up to Lake Palour & on into Stephensville. This could even cause Houma, Gibson, Vacherie, Thibodeaux & any low lying areas all the way to the west bank of the Mississippi to concievably flood.

Why not dredge the Atchafalaya out where this point is, to allow for freer flow to the gulf? I mean it's not but 10 miles to the gulf from there. It is easy to see where all the back up is occuring because there are some huge logs getting caught in the eddys at that point right now. I would really appreciate some of your thoughts on this.